Tuesday, January 6, 2009

tabletop ironing pad tutorial

I don't have a big craft room (yet!) where I can leave out all my crafting necessities, like my ironing board. (Even simple sewing projects usually require you to press something in one direction or another.) Love, love, love this simple ironing pad that you can use on any tabletop, so you don't have to drag out your huge ironing board to press one little seam open. Check it out.

Tabletop Ironing Pad Tutorial

What you'll need:*Insul-Brite (a heat-safe material found at most fabric stores)

*Cotton fabric of your choice

*Thin cotton batting (we like Warm & Natural brand)

*Coordinating ribbon

*Ironing board material (this can be found at most fabric stores--it's silver and a little shiny)

2. Find the center of your fabric. I folded it in quarters and then ironed the corner so I would have a crease telling me where the center of my fabric was.3. Find the center of your ribbon by folding it in half. Sew about one inch of the middle of the ribbon to the middle of your cotton fabric. We used a little zig-zap stitch. Make sure the ribbon tails are laying parallel to long sides of the fabric, so when you roll the pad up, the ribbon can wrap around it to tie it closed.4. Use spray adhesive to baste all four layers together, cotton fabric on top, right-side up, then the Insul-Brite, then cotton batting, then the ironing board material. We don't recommend using pins, since the pin holes in the ironing board material will be there forever.5. Quilt the three pieces together. You can do as little or as much as you want. We just did a few straight, parallel lines. Watch out for your ribbon--don’t sew it down!6. Bind the three pieces with bias tape. Here is a great tutorial by Angry Chicken on how to sew bias tape if you haven't done this before.

40 Responses to “tabletop ironing pad tutorial”

Great tutorial and very useful. I have the insulated material in my stash to make one of these, but had not gotten to the point of actually doing it. Your easy tutorial will help me get this project off my to-do list. Thank you so much!

I've used insulbrite before in potholders and it mattered which side i used when i did my layering. Do you put the shiny side next to the cotton material or the ironing board fabric? And i'm assuming you iron on the cotton side and the other retains the hear - yes? sorry for all the questions, i can't wait to make and want to do it right!!Thanks for your fabulous blog - love it!!!!

You iron on the metallic looking ironing board cover side. Also, we recommend putting a layer of cotton batting on the Insul-brite. You can see the batting in the picture, but it isn't too clear since they are both the same color. Insul-brite is "heat resistant-not heatproof" so be sure you keep this in mind when ironing on your favorite, expensive dining room table :)

This is fantastic! I've been looking for a table top ironing pad for where I work, since they don't have an ironing board in the sewing area, and haven't found one that was big enough. Now I can make one for them that's the exact size they need! (and a smaller one for myself!!)

Ironing board material is actually different from Insul-Brite. Insult-Brite is white and goes inside to absorb the heat. The ironing board material is a shiny silver material that reflects the heat away from the pad. Most fabric stores should be able to help you find it!

I've been looking everywhere for info on making my own ironing pad station, make shift as ironing boards take up so much space and I want something wider. But I will be back to make this portable ironing pad. I think that upon making the ironing pad, assuming it will resist heat going all the way thru, that I'll keep a piece of shelf liner with it to put under it to keep it from sliding while ironing on retreats. I love the idea of making one to take with me. Card maker also? Joan Lowder www.jloscreativecorner.blogspot.com

Great idea - however, a couple of questions.In step 4 you say to baste all "four" layers together.In step 5 you say to quilt the "three" pieces together.In step 6 you say to bind the "three" pieces together.Do you actually quilt and bind all four layers or only three?Is there any thread found to take the heat the best - on the ironing board material layer?

I linked to this on my weekly roundup and shared a bit of amusement. My MIL gave me an ironing pad for Christmas that has a small cutting mat on the other side. I started my handmade Christmas stuff back in October, and my poor hubs was shuffling around my ironing board for the bulk of the 2.5 months that followed. (We had one late Christmas with his side of the family...) I would have been all over this to keep the big board out of the way! :>) Thanks for sharing!

Eeek! I love it! I do have a craft room and it does have space for an ironing board, but I still want this. Because I have a big table in the center and that's a perfect place to iron. Having a board and the table seems like overkill so I just want this. Perfect!

I would like to make something similar to this place on our 8' table center for placing hot pots and bowls for serving while protecting the table from heat. Any advice? Or would the instructions be the same?

I saw something similar to this somewhere ?? It was bigger and was on the top of a clothes dryer, it was wide enough to hang over the sides 5 inches or so and had magnets in each corner to keep it in place ... It was so cute... This I think is great for smaller spaces/smaller jobs and makes more sense to me... but Both are better than what I have now, which is , no ironing board or no dryer, LOL .. I will definitely be making myself one of these... and the daughter that I try to get to iron all the time...LOL... thanks for the tutorial ...

I am so glad I found this. I was ironing last night and thought how awesome it would be to be able to iron on my craft table (aka sandwiching and pin basting table). I can make one of these in the size of my craft table and iron a top and backing in no time at all! Thank you!!